Kleist, (Bernd) Heinrich (Wilhelm) von

Biography Part 2

In Dresden (1807-1809) he became a member of a large circle of writers, painters, and patrons and,
with the political philosopher Adam Müller, published the periodical Phöbus, which lasted
only a few months. While he was in prison his adaptation of Molière's Amphitryon
(published 1807) attracted some attention, and in 1808 he published Penthesilea, a tragic
drama about the passionate love of the queen of the Amazons for Achilles. Although this play
received little acclaim, it is now thought to contain some of Kleist's most powerful poetry, with
the grimness of plot and intensity of feeling that have made his place unique among German poets.
In March 1808 Kleist's one-act comedy in verse, Der zerbrochene Krug (The Broken Pitcher),
was unsuccessfully produced by Goethe in Weimar. The play employs vividly portrayed rustic
characters, skillful dialogue, earthy humour, and subtle realism in its depiction of the
fallibility of human feeling and the flaws inherent in human justice. It ranks among the
masterpieces of German dramatic comedy. Toward the end of 1808, inspired by a threatened rising
against Napoleon, Kleist wrote some savage war poems and a political and patriotic tragedy,
Die Hermannsschlacht (1821; "The Warrior's Battle"), and in 1809 attempted to found a
political periodical that would call all Germany to arms. Between 1810 and 1811 his
Das Käthchen von Heilbronn (1810; "Katherine of Heilbronn"), a drama set in Swabia during
the Middle Ages, was performed in Vienna, Graz, and Bamberg. But the Berlin stage remained closed
to him.

Kleist also wrote eight masterly novellas, collected in Erzählungen (1810-11), of which
Michael Kohlhaas, Das Erdbeben in Chili ("The Earthquake in Chili"), and Die Marquise
von O . . . have become well-known as tales of violence and mystery. They are all
characterized by an extraordinary economy, power, and vividness and by a tragic subject matter in
which men are driven to the limits of their endurance by the violence of other men or of nature.
Kleist's last drama, Prinz Friedrich von Homburg (published posthumously in 1821
by Ludwig Tieck), is a brilliant psychological drama. The play's
problematical hero is Kleist's finest figure, reflecting Kleist's own conflicts between heroism
and cowardice, dreaming and action.

For six months Kleist had edited the daily newspaper Berliner Abendblätter, of which the
contributors included Adam Müller, Achim von Arnim, and Clemens Brentano. When it ceased
publication, he lost his means of livelihood. He obtained an audience with the king,
petitioning to be reinstated as a military officer, and in September 1811 visited his relatives
in Frankfurt to ask them for a loan to cover the expenses ralated to that reinstatement.
In response to his request for financial help he was called "ein ganz nichtsnutziges Glied der
menschlichen Gesellschaft" (an absolutely useless member of society). Disappointed in life and
embittered by the lack of recognition accorded him by his contemporaries, particularly
Goethe, he came to know a terminally ill woman, Henriette Vogel, who begged him to kill her.
This gave Kleist the final incentive to end his tragic life, and on Nov. 21, 1811, he shot
Henriette and himself on the shore of the Wannsee.